Mountain biking: Ourimbah Mountain Bike Park’s newest trail will officially open on Saturday, August 22.
Spearheaded by park custodians, Central Coast Mountain Bike Club (CCMTB), the new $45,000 1.6km lower flow trail is set to combine a smooth wide trail, with pumping sections, steep berms, jumps and rollers in a downhill experience.
According to CCMTB Secretary, Leif Arnebark, the new addition is designed to cater to new and intermediate riders who may not have been comfortable utilising the park’s more complex downhill trails.
“The trail is basically a whole new offering within the park, with its low technical difficulty great for new riders.
“The park was lacking features that catered for less experienced riders, so with this project, we wanted to make sure that beginners had a trail that they could utilise to practice and progress,” Arnebark said.
The new trail was jointly funded by the club with government grants, with Federal Member for Dobell, Emma McBride, set to cut the ribbon at the opening.
“The club would like to say a big thank you to Emma for her grant support, as well as to Wyong MP, David Harris, and to our land manager’s NSW Forestry, who’ve been so supportive of the park’s growth,” Arnebark said.
And with the recreational activity’s popularity exploding since the pandemic began, Arnebark expects the new trail will get quite a workout over the next few months.
“We estimate that the park has had around 800-1000 rider visits per week over winter, and we know that it’s not just locals, but also riders from Sydney and Newcastle travelling to check out its facilities.
“We see this plus the influx of new riders that we’ve noted this year as proof that mountain biking is a valuable addition to the coast’s recreational, sporting and tourism sectors,” Arnebark said.
As the final piece in a medley of recent upgrade works, with the trail complete, Arnebark said CCMTB was now planning for the return of competitive mountain biking events to the park.
“A lot of the club’s maintenance and development funding is raised through race hosting, so we are very keen to see races return, starting with our CCMTB Gravity Enduro on Sunday, August 23,” Arnebark said.
With the opening getting underway from 11am, Arnebark said locals were welcome to come along and see some of the club’s best riders test out the new trail.
“The club is very proud of how the park has progressed and everyone is welcome to come and celebrate the lower flow trail opening, provided they adhere to all instructions and physical distancing,” Arnebark said.
Dilon Luke